[Adopted 9-14-1998 by Ord. No. 98-15]
Pursuant to the authority granted in the Second
Class Township Code to prohibit nuisances and to promote the health,
cleanliness, comfort and safety of the citizens of Uwchlan Township
and the authority of political subdivisions of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania to enact local ordinances to regulate, inter alia, the
sale, distribution, display and exhibition of and activities concerning
obscene and other sexual material as provided for in 18 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 5903(k), and as upheld by the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Brown v. Pornography Commission
of Lower Southampton Township, 620 F. Supp 1199 (E.D. Pa. 1985), the
Township of Uwchlan enacts the following article.
Terms used within this article shall have the
meanings as defined in 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5903(B) and (E), entitled
"Obscene and Other Sexual Materials and Performances." The text of
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5903 is appended hereto as Appendix A and
is incorporated herein by reference thereto.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the
Township offices.
A.
No person, knowing the obscene character of the materials
or performances involved, shall, within the Township of Uwchlan:
(1)
Display or cause or permit the display of any explicit sexual materials, as defined in Subsection B of this section, in or on any window, showcase, newsstand, display rack, billboard, display board, monitor, viewing screen, motion-picture screen, marquee or similar place in such manner that the display is visible from any public street, highway, sidewalk, transportation facility or other public thoroughfare, or in any business or commercial establishment where minors, as a part of the general public or otherwise, are or will probably be exposed to view all or any part of such materials;
(2)
Sell, lend, distribute, exhibit, give away or show
any obscene materials or offer to sell, lend, distribute, exhibit
or give away or show, or have in his possession with intent to sell,
lend, distribute, exhibit or give away or show, any obscene materials
to any person or knowingly advertise any obscene materials in any
manner;
(3)
Design, copy, draw, photograph, print, utter, publish
or in any manner manufacture or prepare any obscene materials. The
terms “publish” and “publication,” in the
context of this article, shall include but shall not be limited to
the various methods by which graphic, textual, audio, and/or video
information is made the subject of information communication and/or
retrieval over a network of computers, including the international
network of interconnected computers known as the “Internet.”
Such methods include but are not limited to electronic mail, automatic
mailing list services, newsgroups, chat rooms, and the creation of
or the posting of information to sites on the World Wide Web; so long
as the act of publication, communication, or information retrieval
takes place by means of a computer physically located in Uwchlan Township;
(4)
Write, print, publish, utter or cause to be written
printed, published or uttered any advertisement or notice of any kind
giving information, directly or indirectly, stating or purporting
to state where, how, from whom, or by what means any obscene materials
can be purchased, obtained or had;
(5)
Produce, present or direct any obscene performance
or participate in a portion thereof that is obscene or that contributes
to its obscenity; or
(6)
Hire, employ, use or permit any minor child to do
or assist in doing any act or thing mentioned in this subsection.
B.
Dissemination to minors. No person shall knowingly
disseminate, by sale, loan, or otherwise, explicit sexual materials
to a minor. “Explicit sexual materials,” as used in this
subsection, means materials which are obscene or:
(1)
Any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion-picture
file, videotape or similar visual representation or image of a person
or portion of the human body which depicts nudity, sexual conduct,
or sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors; or
(2)
Any book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter, however reproduced, or sound recording which contains any matter enumerated in Subsection B(1), or explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, or sadomasochistic abuse and which, taken as a whole, is harmful to minors.
C.
Admitting minor to show. It shall be unlawful for
any person knowingly to exhibit for monetary consideration to a minor
or knowingly to sell to a minor an admission ticket or pass or knowingly
to admit a minor to premises whereon there is exhibited a motion-picture
show or other presentation or performance which, in whole or in part,
depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or sadomasochistic abuse and which
is harmful to minors.
D.
HARMFUL TO MINORS
(1)
(2)
(3)
KNOWINGLY
(1)
(2)
MINOR
SEXUAL EXCITEMENT
Definitions. As used in Subsections B and C of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
That quality of any description or representation, in whatever
form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic
abuse, when it:
Predominantly appeals to the prurient, shameful,
or morbid interest of minors;
Is patently offensive to prevailing standards
in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable
materials for minors; and
Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic,
political, educational or scientific value for minors.
General knowledge of, or reason to know, or a belief or grounds
for belief which warrants further inspection or inquiry, of both:
The character and content of any material or
performance described herein which is reasonably susceptible of examination
by the person charged with violation of this article; and
The age of the minor or the fact that minors
are among those likely to view or receive the obscene materials; provided,
however, that an honest mistake shall constitute an excuse from liability
hereunder if the person charged with violation of this article made
a reasonable bona fide attempt to ascertain the true age of such minor
or to prevent minors from inclusion among those likely to view or
receive the obscene materials.
Any person under the age of 18 years.
The condition of human male or female genitals when in a
state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
E.
Requiring sale as a condition of business dealings.
No person shall knowingly require any distributor or retail seller,
as a condition to sale or delivery for resale or consignment of any
literature, book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper, storypaper, paper,
comic book, writing, drawing, photograph, videotape, figure or image,
or any written or printed matter, or any article or instrument, to
purchase or take by consignment for purposes of sale, resale or distribution
any obscene literature, book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper, storypaper,
paper, comic book, writing, drawing, photograph, videotape, figure
or image, or any written or printed matter of an obscene nature or
any article or instrument of an obscene nature.
Nothing in this article shall apply to any recognized
historical society or museum accorded charitable status by the federal
government, any county, city, borough, township or town library, any
public library, any library of any school, college or university or
any archive or library under the supervision and control of the commonwealth
or a political subdivision.
Any person who violates or permits a violation
of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of
Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default
of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that
such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute
a separate offense, and each section of this article that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense.
